Customer Reviews

Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am not a Buddhist, but I've practiced insight (vipassana) meditation for several years. I was curious about lovingkindess (metta) meditation, which I'd heard of when I was in Burma, although as a beginner, I chose to stick to insight meditation.

Somehow I thought this book would be the best introduction to me, and I ordered it. But let me confess, at first I failed to appreciate it. I read about 20 pages, I was bored, and I put the book down for about 8 months. That's fine, insight meditation never hurt anyone.

I don't remember why I was initially so bored by the book. Perhaps it was because of her conversational style, full of stories from her own or her friends' experiences. Most people like that kind of thing, it makes the author's ideas easier to understand, more familiar and more human; but I usually prefer an author to state their point and move on, without personal stories. Anyway, the stories she shares actually illuminate her points quite well.

When I picked the book up again (8 months later), somehow it hit me this time. I read it in about 2 weeks, and it only took me that long because I actually did many of the meditation exercises she suggests. I intend to keep going back and doing more of them.

She does a good job presenting the tradition of metta meditation, as far as I can tell, although I'm certainly no expert on it.

Since she's Buddhist, naturally she believes in karma and reincarnation, but I don't. So I, as a thorough skeptic, appreciated the lack of supernaturalism throughout the book. In the penultimate chapter she gave an account of karma, but that was all. She was very considerate to skeptics in that regard. The rest of the book is sharply focused on the techniques and principles of metta meditation and their benefits in this life.

That makes it a book I can strongly recommend, regardless of your religious inclinations, if you want to practice metta meditation. You don't need to believe in karma or reincarnation to benefit from it!

But let me add a little caveat to that. I am not a great teacher or anything, but if you're just starting meditation, I'd recommend trying insight meditation first.

One more small note: On beliefnet.com, you can enjoy some guided meditations led by the author of this book, for free.

Sharon Salzberg is such a capable, warm, and inspiring voice for Western Buddhism. This work beautifully weaves together Buddhist philosophy and practice, reality and practicality, compassion and joy. She fleshes out concepts of meditation and mindfulness using her own experiences, often amusing, without drawing attention to herself. Rather, she is a skilled teacher who guides the student on his/her own journey.

Whether Buddhist or not, beginner mind or monk, most readers will celebrate this work.

Lovingkindness : The Revolutionary Art of Happiness by Sharon Salzberg is by far one of the best books ever written. And contrary to what others have said in their reviews, I believe that this book can be read by anyone. If meditation makes you uncomfortable, thing of it as a positive affirmation. Ms. Salzberg teaches us how to appreciate life and those around us. It really is a great book: one of three that I always keep by my bedside and refer to frequently! I highly, highly recommend it!!

This is one of the few books I would actually read over and over. It's incredibly down-to-earth and is full of great quotes you keep in mind all day long. It invites you to think about your perception of yourself and others in a very different light. There is so much common sense in the buddhist way of relating to each other, but we don't often use our common sense.

This is one of the best books that I have read in the area of Buddhism. Salzberg's writing style is warm and friendly but is nonetheless clear and to the point. While a teacher of meditation and Buddhism, she expresses great psychological understanding of emotion and writes with the acumen of a trained therapist.

In this book, Salzberg describes meditations on the brahma viharas: lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. These are the "divine abodes," sometimes called the cardinal virtues of Buddhism. Salzberg provides a clear rationale as to why these types of meditation are beneficial and how to do them. The practice is deep, but can be started by any beginner through the means described in this book.

The benefits of this type of meditation are nothing short of impressive. Within a few days of doing metta meditation (lovingkindness), I began to notice emotional changes in myself--feeling more happiness, warmth, and caring.

This book is highly accessible to non-Buddhists. Practicing these techniques does not require a religious conversion. Anyone who values basic virtues such as kindness, compassion, and emotional balance will find these techniques agreeable. They are based on psychological principles and were designed to increase emotional well-being.

Loving-kindness meditation is unique to our Buddhist traditions, and in this book Sharon Salzburg presents us with an informative body of work on it's practice. She uses her understanding and know-how drawn from many years of practice to point each and every one of us to the realization that the light of love is already within us all. Loving-kindness must be aimed at two sources: ourselves and all beings.

Sharon talks a bit about what holds us back from this realization, ranging from our attachments to antagonism. One of the first rules to breaking down these impediments is the act of giving, not just giving in a material sense but ultimately giving the breadth of our very being; compassionate action, not just loving-kindness thoughts. This book should speak to all of us, and for this reason alone I give it 5 stars.

I am not overstating in saying that I owe much of my happiness to the principles this book so clearly, intelligently, and accessibly presents. The principle of loving-kindness is explained in short, marvelously fat-free chapters, at the end of each of which are excellent guided suggestions for practice. The book is impeccably written and edited. These meditations have helped me through profound grieving, which has transformed into joy and new insight.

I especially recommend this book for readers who are experiencing divorce or other difficult interpersonal problems. Short of an expensive and demanding meditation retreat I can think of no better practice for unconditional love and happiness. This is worth a mint in therapy!

No religious belief in Buddhism is necessary.

While self-help books abound, promising deliverance from all that ails us, Sharon Salzberg's "Loving Kindness, refreshes. Her writings burn themselves clean...in that, one is not tangled up with an author presenting her version of a spiritual path, rather she is the path itself, unfolding for who ever wants to journey. From the opening lines in chapter one: "We can travel a long way and do many different things, but our deepest happiness is not born from accumulating new experiences. It is born from letting go of what is unnecessary and knowing ourselves to be always at home." to the last chapter, entitled, "Living Our Love", Ms. Salzberg writes with dignity and care about that which she deeply knows.

Basically, I liked this book and found that it covered all the essential points anyone would want to know. However, in places I thought it was redundant and could have gone deeper.

While there are several books on this topic, this is one of the most accesible to Westerners. I also think Sharon Salzberg's sincerity and belief in what she is doing comes through.

If you don't own any resources on Metta meditation, this is a good place to start.

Reading this book forces the reader to embark upon a journey of opening the mind, and the heart (if there is a real difference). A Journey that questions the conditioned states many of us have become used to as our reality. With a mastery of deep understanding and humility, Sharon Salzberg gives people one of the most important gifts in the world. It is something most of us just seek unconsciously. It is something that we don't usually remain aware of in our every day life, but we all would be willing to do anything to "get" it. It is happiness.